So next weekend I have to speak on the subject of prayer. I would love your thoughts on this topic as I prepare!
What is the point of prayer?
What do you think prayer is?
What concerns you about people who pray?
When does prayer become important?
When you hear the words prayer or praying – what thoughts spring to your mind?
What say you blog readers? Leave your thoughts in the comments below, because I would love to hear them whether you are a person who prays or a person who doesn’t.
Quick thoughts:
Point – obedience; as Jesus did, so should we
Prayer is – in one sense, admission that we (humans) are not all-powerful; we need Someone else
Concern – the risk of using prayer like a vending machine
Important – any time it is genuine
Thoughts – a solemn means of grace that too often becomes something less or, to borrow a word-use from Bonhoeffer, cheap
Have a good weekend!
The point – I’m not sure. It depends what you believe about God and the bible.
Prayer is – a way to articulate your thoughts, feelings, needs, wants, emotions.
Concerns about people who pray – like most things in life I try to base this on what people’s intentions are. If they’re praying because they believe it will be helpful to them/ the subject of the prayer, then all good. If the seem to be being judgemental and harsh and using prayer/ “God’s will” or “it says so in the bible”, not so good.
(As an aside, as an atheist/ agnostic, I’ll often ask praying friends to pray for other praying friends, because I know this means more than anything I can say or do to try to help. That’s kind of the opposite of a concern I guess).
Important – depends on the pray-er and the subject again.
Thoughts – I don’t properly understand it.
Pingback: The rainbows in the sky | Learning from Sophie